The unrest over Georgia’s special teams situation is understandable, given how underwhelming the return games are. (Not to mention Ramsay outpunting Barber. But I digress.)
So I get the insistence on Richt hiring a dedicated special teams coach. Except what exactly can we expect a special teams coach to do when a player explains his crucial mistake like this?
“It felt like I had run forward but in reality I guess I just ran straight back,” Davis said. “Then I dropped it and then what happened happened. As a player to do that over and over and over again and then you’ve done it good and you let the (bad) ones go and then you catch the good ones and then that happens in a big game like this. It’s frustrating.”
I mean, there isn’t enough coaching in the world to overcome that.
Then, again, maybe the issue isn’t special teams coaching.
Isaiah McKenzie was available to return punts but Richt said coaches have confidence in Davis to make the right decision near the end zone on the pooch punts.
“Confidence”? I know this is something a blogger shouldn’t admit, but words fail me.
Get The Picture 
incontinence describes our special teams.
Not confidence.
LikeLike
Stand by the players, coaches, and team.
LikeLike
Whatever happened to standing on the ten yard line and if the ball goes over your head let it go? Certainly on the five?
LikeLike
That’s one of the things that makes this mistake so frustrating. He positioned himself on the 10 before the punt. I’m sure he did this for the very reason you state. Yet, he still faded back under the kick and tried to field the ball at about the 5 or less. There is no question he had been coached. Yet he made two mistakes; attempting to field inside the 10 and muffing.
Momentum swung fully on that play and we never had a chance. There are many reasons beyond this muff and TD. But the tone was set at that point.
LikeLike
This wasn’t Davis’ first, or second, muff of a punt. I vividly remember Vandy in 13 and UT this year though he picked that one up and scored. Yet they have confidence in him????
LikeLike
Apparently that went the way of special teams being 1/3 of a team.
LikeLike
I’ll just leave this here.
http://onlineathens.com/sports/college-sports/2015-10-18/freshman-terry-godwin-leads-uga-receiving-punt-returns-against
LikeLike
We deserve better than “we gotta get better and we will” and all such shit as this. The top man in the football offices is catatonic. (Full disclosure; he’s my guy, but I don’t see how he can lead this program any longer)
LikeLike
ps. I believe we have reached the UT/Phil Fulmer point and no going back now.
LikeLike
Well, I am sure the O will get better. I mean not often do teams manage to not score more than 3 points, however, I do not think the ceiling for improvement is very high. We have managed to score 10 or less points in nearly 50% of our games thus far.
LikeLike
Sometimes I wish players would not talk to the media. Did I actually say “sometimes?”
LikeLike
And you wonder how Logan gray gets that job? I mean what else can you do? Can’t do it for him.
LikeLike
If the guys are that clueless, maybe go back to having 2 of them back there, so one can tell the other to let the ball go.
LikeLike
Sadly they’d probably run into each other.
LikeLike
That sounds about right.
LikeLike
Even when Davis does catch the ball he’s a less reliable Logan Gray.
LikeLike
The biggest waste of effort in college football today is returning a kickoff out of the endzone. There is very little chance of a returner making it to the 25 yd. line much less running it back for a TD. There is also a high probability of a penalty. That’s just one facet of ST that UGA absolutely flounders in. Damn, just take a knee and take the ball on the 25.
LikeLike
Unless you’re playing the Dawgs because we refuse to kick the ball through the end zone.
LikeLike
So true. How many times are the coaches going to allow Davis to field a kick 6 to out yards deep and get stopped short of the 20? Simple solution.
Reggie, stand on the goal line and if it goes over your head let it. The next time you run kick out of the end zone, you will run 1 set of stadium steps for every yard you are stopped short of the 25 and you will be benched.
LikeLike
If 81 can’t get it right sit him on the bench. Don’t tell him you love him tell him to execute. It looks like a Bryan Evans situation on punt and kick returns.
LikeLike
Or just put your best guy in and don’t worry about appeasing your players with playing time – see January 1, 2014 same stadium.
When appeasement leads to a loss, EVERYONE is unhappy.
LikeLike
By his statement I would have to say that he should not have been back there in the first place
LikeLike
With all due respect, Senator…
Bullshit.
Coaches are paid a lot to recruit talent and teach players proper execution.
When you have persistent failures in execution, that’s a coaching failure. Period.
Sorry. This “no amount of coaching can solve this” position is just bullshit.
LikeLike
This^^^^^^^.
Well said.
LikeLike
The Senator is, of course, back on his Richt can do no wrong shtick. He said he would have a post slamming Richt, but of course it never came. The only ways guys like Bluto would get rid of Richt is if we go like 4-8. Having the program an embarrassing turd is not enough.
LikeLike
In fairness – he only said there was a post to come about the head man. You’ve projected your own expectation that it would be slamming Richt so that’s your own damn fault for being disappointed.
As somebody completely agnostic on the future of Richt (i.e. I’m not going to shed any tears if he were fired tomorrow), this mentality is a prime example of why I can’t deal with the realists like you without being annoyed. If anybody doesn’t say exactly what you want to hear and tell you how right you are about the fall of the program and that Richt needs to be gone – you call them coach lovers and just pretty much act like a dick. Do you want a cookie for having the negative attitude proven right or something? Everybody hear wants the same thing for the program, but don’t feel the need to express it in such absolutes (note that only a Sith deals in absolutes).
I swear – the past five years have soured me so much on our fanbase and how fucking cannabilistic it’s become. One segment wants to burn the fucking program to the ground and another segment thinks everything is rainbows and unicorns as long as we’re doing things “the right way”. I feel like Frank Costanza at the opening of Festivus proclaiming that I got a lot of problems with you people. For crying out loud, we all want the same thing. I’m just sick of this fucking conversation every day and think stepping back from the internet for a short while would be the best for me.
LikeLike
To be fair you can’t call out the “realists” without acknowledging that the rah rah types can be just as bad about making things personal. Until today I’ve been critical of Richt but I never have called for him to be fired(I still haven’t officially) and I’ve been insulted in very personal ways and told that I’m not a “real” fan because I’m critical.
LikeLike
Well yeah – that’s why I said “I got a lot of problems with you people”. I’m just annoyed by it all.
However, there’s been one group that has been most vocal through all of this nonsense to let you know where they stand and it’s the “realists” arguing with people because they won’t just scream FIRE MARK RICHT loud enough to satisfy them. Just pore through the comments at this blog and you’ll find one or two commenters on each topic that just repeat the same shit 30 different times and it’s just a different variation of insulting those that don’t yell FIRE MARK RICHT loud enough.
LikeLike
True enough but look at Derek’s posts today for example. He posts diatribes about how anyone that doesn’t love MR as much as him is an idiot. But id agree that if both sides could just be civil.
LikeLike
Re-post one of those right here and prove your point. You won’t find one. It’s just like the man said if you don’t scream the same bitchy nonsense that you want to hear you stop listening.
LikeLike
Lol. I seriously hope you’re trolling me. If so then bravo.
LikeLike
Well said and on target.
LikeLike
With all due respect, indeed.
The point to my post wasn’t to absolve the coaching staff of responsibility. It was to note that (1) Reggie Davis was given proper coaching, but chose to disregard the instructions he received and (2) despite that, Richt believes that Davis can be trusted with the task.
In other words, it was an acknowledgement that there is a coaching failure on the part of Richt to recognize that Davis has no business back there.
The problem here is that you don’t seem to be able to accept my criticism unless I start screaming FIRE MARK RICHT in bold caps in every post I make about Georgia football.
LikeLike
I don’t envy you your task as moderator this week.
LikeLike
Your reasoning fails in (1) as soon as you say that Reggie Davis was given proper coaching. When players persistently disregard coaching instructions, they are not properly coached.
But we agree that (2) also amounts to a coaching failure.
As for the rest of your reply, I’m not as interested in engaging the catty tone and all caps comment. I think we’re above that.
LikeLike
Stay above it all, AT.
LikeLike
I’m sorry for my use of the word bullshit if that doesn’t agree with you. I didn’t consider that a personal attack, but maybe I’m wrong.
I’m not here to get salty with other Georgia fans though (unless you count humor about Mac’s authoritarianism).
🙂
LikeLike
try “bull feathers” next time
LikeLike
I just thought you set the tone of that exchange…everybody’s been a little salty the last few weeks. 🙂
LikeLike
Fair ’nuff. And you’re right — plenty of salt to go around these days.
LikeLike
I gotta cure for Davis. In the Corps, we had a saying, “pain equals memory”. Let me pop his heart all this week in the treeline and I can promise you he’ll never pull that stunt again. At 70 years old, he’d be screaming out in the middle of the night “LET IT GO”
LikeLike
I agree with the Senator here. The blog should be focused on execution issues and how to fix those. That is the issue. Anyone with half a brain can see that the drops by Rome alone cost us 14 points, and Reggie once again costs us 7. The oline not holding blocks on Mitchell’s double move, resulting in the turnover, was another execution play. Those 4 plays were all great calls where maybe 1 guy made a mistake. The issue wasn’t strategy, anyone but a troll can see that. Until you see former UGA players like Greene, AJ, Pollack, calling for Richt to be fired, you don’t really have a hotseat. When that kicks in, it’s Miami Golden time. Let’s get the oline blocking fixed, let’s work on catching passes and kicks, and we’ll win out. Again, Richt has won almost 75% of his games at UGA, the man rarely loses because of poor strategy.
LikeLike
I must admit that I averted my eyes this week. I caught glimpses of the game including a 10 minute stretch in the late first quarter and early second quarter. After the tip of the pass which floated up into the air, was intercepted and looked like an inevitable Gator TD, I returned to my chili cooking and checked out. Call me a fair weather fan – I just could not bear to have the scab torn off the wound any longer. I have already bled enough, I thought. Kudos to you guys who stuck it out to the bitter end and absorbed all the mess. Supposed to go up for the Kentucky game this weekend. Not sure if that will happen or not. Carry on, Senator.
LikeLike
And if the athlete can’t correct his mistakes, then just stop using him on that particular task.
LikeLike
The players know and do what their coaching allows them to get away with. This is coaching.
Can Schottenheimer. Move Lilly to interim OC. Let the TEs be coached with the WRs and OL, situationally-specific of course.
Hire a Special Teams coordinator.
Profit.
LikeLike
Or better yet, make Pruitt the interim head coach and allow him to complete the transition from the country club appeasement culture that’s existed here for years.
LikeLike
Yup. May be a viable idea.
LikeLike
I sure hope CMR informed Reggie before the muffed punt return that he lives him regardless.
LikeLike
Loves not lives
LikeLike
Too much love and no responsibility. In football, you make war not love.
LikeLike
That explanation is almost as incomprehensible as the gameplan created for Bauta. A spirit of confusion is a difficult demon to exorcise.
LikeLike
The spirit of confusion comes from the lack of leadership at the top.
LikeLike
For years, I could not wait for the game to start. I has nervous butterflies in my stomach and watched the whole game sitting on the edge of my seat. I would take the phone off the hook so I was not disturbed and would never think to schedule any type of appointment on game day. Fast forward to the present. I now set my DVR to record the game. I go about my business and don’t really give the game a second thought. When I get home, I will set the DVR to play at 2X or 3X until I see something interesting happen then I will slow it down to normal time. This way I can be disappointed in only about 30-45 minutes instead of dying a slow death by watching the game in real time and taking 3 or more hours.
LikeLike
25 years ago I had a neighbor that did the same thing..he recorded onto a VHS tape. He would watch the game if dawgs won and shitcan the recording if they lost…he couldn’t watch because he invested a lot emotionally and was too volatile. I know more fans that do it now (easier with DVR of course) but but it’s pure apathy now.
LikeLike
A good strategy…
LikeLike
Unfortunately, the reality is that Richt has 4 years left on his contract at $4MM per year. He isn’t going anywhere because the idiot in charge, McGarity, gave him an extension in January. We will mire in mediocrity for at least two more years. Richt has got to go; he is just not motivated enough to fix anything. No fire in the belly at 55 and guaranteed money.
LikeLike
“what exactly can we expect a special teams coach to do”
Don’t play guys that can’t catch the ball? It’s not like this is his first muffed punt.
LikeLike
That’s what I noticed about the Dawg’s coaches. It seems to be that they keep on using players that keeps on failing until they succeed, and then replace them with another who keeps on failing. Yup, my statement is as confusing and incoherent as the coaches game planning.
LikeLike
This last class was supposed to be very talented. Sit all of the non performs and let these puppies get some real game experience. Why lose without getting anything out of it. At least next year all of these guys will have had some seasoning and HOPEFULLY it will pay some dividends. What good you to have a Jr or Sr on the field failing? They have had their chance and we are losing with them, so why not lose without them?
LikeLike
There’s really no question UGA doesn’t need a TE coach more than a special teams coach. Lets the receivers and oline coach coach the tight ends,
LikeLike
I wonder when the same, repetitive mistakes by a player become the coach’s responsibility. Isn’t that the point of coaching? To impart knowledge to his players? It seems you disagree with Davis even being back there, based on past performance, and I certainly agree with that. But I also think coaches bear the blame when a talented player doesn’t grow/learn/develop, as Davis clearly hasn’t .
LikeLike
Davis has issues with drops, period, apparently, so does McKenzie but I’d go with McKen because his potential seems much higher.
LikeLike
In high school I returned punts when the coach was worried about something. Maybe it was a possible fake or a pooch, but whatever it was he called for the “safe punt” and that meant me. Let’s be clear, I lacked athleticism. The only reason I was in there was I did exactly as I was told.
One time I stood on the 10 and the ball landed barely behind me. All my buddies laughed at how I ran like my a$$ was on fire to get away from that ball. Why? The only thing worse than fielding it at the 9 was letting it bounce into me.
There is a time for Mckenzie and there is a time for Logan Gray. There is no time for a player who doesn’t know how to stop at the 10.
That’s coaching.
LikeLike
I’d go with McKenzie and take my lumps. His upside is higher. And this season is now officially a rebuilding season.
Please, for goodness sake, don’t let one bad year turn into 2 again, in other words, don’t sacrifice 2016 by trying to get to 9 wins.
LikeLike
Bluto: “I mean, there isn’t enough coaching in the world to overcome that.”
Yep, can’t overcome a problem like that! Unless of course, you’re one of the other 100+ head coaches in cfb who managed to avoid it on Saturday.
LikeLike
I’m pretty much out on Richt at this point but if we lose to Southern or Tech then he needs to be fired. Normally I’d be conditioned to say that about UK too but I think they are a better team. I wonder what Stoops would do with the resources and recruiting advantages at Georgia.
LikeLike
McKenzie has issues fielding punts as well. Georgia many have been better of with Logan Gray Saturday.
LikeLike